Trying to visualize what a trillion dollars is like
by
David Grand
April 8, 2009
A ll I know, is that it's 12 zeroes to the left of the decimal point and that it'd take a thousand billion to reach that astronomical figure.
Fortunately, some math geniuses have put it in graphic terms I can understand:
- If you laid one dollar bills end to end, you could make a chain from the earth to the moon (a distance of 237,857 mi.) and back again 200 times before running out.
- They would nearly stretch from the earth to the sun ( 93 million mi.)
- It would take a military jet flying at the speed of sound, reeling out a roll of dollar bills behind it, 14 years before it reeled out one trillion dollar bills.
With those startling figures in mind, it's easier (but not less painful) to comprehend the outstanding public debt of over $11 trillion, which increases an average of $3.75 billion per day, or $36,117.17 for each citizen's share of the debt.
Now, if that hasn't already given you gastric acidity, these stupefying numbers well might:(1) that this year's budget deficit is now nearly $1.7 trillion, and doesn't count President Obama's budget plan to cut taxes and increase spending; (2) that, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, the total costs of the two wars were engaged in will be $2.4 trillion; (3) that the $634 billion "down payment" President Obama set aside for health reform in his $3.6 trillion budget will, experts say, expand to about $1.5 to $1.7 trillion for a plan that covers everyone; and (4) that the coverage will cost $125 billion to $150 billion a year, when fully phased-in.
Now, not wanting leave you in a state of depression about the gargantuan national debt, here's a fun quiz about money that might put you in a better mood:
- What is the most widely used coin in circulation?
a) Penny b) Dime c) Quarter
- What is the largest bill in general circulation today?
a) 100 b) 1,000 c) 10,000
- What type of printing process is used to print paper money?
a) silkscreen b) intaglio c) woodcut
- Pennies are made of?
a) copper b) 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc c) 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper
- What do the tiny letters "p, d, s" on coins stand for?
a) Latin name of coin's worth b) name of city where coin was minted c) name of person who first created each coin
- What is the average life span of a coin?
a) 5 years b) 10 years c) 25 years
- What is the average life span of a $1 bill
a) 3 years b) 2 years c) 18 months
- The first U.S. coins were made in what year?
a) 1776 b) 1787 c) 1792
- Paper money has received a new look recently, except for the $1 bill. Why?
a) It looks so great already b) it isn't often counterfeited c) when George Washington approved the dollar, it was with the understanding that it would never be changed.
- Are $2 bills in circulation?
a) yes b) only as "play money" and as souvenirs c) still issued
(Answers: 1-a, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c, 5-b, 6-c, 7-c, 8-b, 9-b), 10-a.
